Purdue University President Mitch Daniels knows the school he presides over has strengths — rigorous courses, a campus environment that supports learning and a restructured formula for teaching.

But in an era when consumers are beginning to question the role of higher education, Daniels wants to find a way to show the university's strengths to those who might not see them as clearly.

After the inaugural Gallup-Purdue Index — a joint research effort between the university and the Lumina Foundation to study the relationship between the college experience and graduates' lives — data showed that where students choose to go to school may not matter as much as the experiences they have while there.

But at Purdue, where some students pay upward of $30,000 a year for an education, Daniels said he feels an obligation to show prospective students and their families what the Boilermaker experience can do for them.

According to Daniels, it is something universities should do, need to do and have the opportunity to do.

To get answers, Daniels and his chief of staff, Gina DelSanto, turned to Gallup to send out another survey. This time, it will go to alumni.

"It's about finding the value of a Purdue education," Daniels said. "It's about making that value higher."

The hope is to learn from those whom Gallup describes as "thriving," DelSanto said. Those who are thriving have a well-being that is strong, consistent and progressing, and have positive life views, according to its website.

Purdue administrators want to know: What made graduates successful after college?

A web-based survey of about 70 questions will ask alumni about what they did as undergraduates, including extracurricular activities, positions they held and whether they had a faculty member who served as a mentor.

Data could help the university create a better Purdue experience and help graduates thrive after they receive their diplomas. The more administrators learn, the higher the value higher education could have, Daniels said.

"It's about making the system more accountable and making universities do a better job tomorrow than they do today," he said.

Surveys will be sent out by early July. Alumni must have an email address to participate.

"We hope to get alumni to poke other alumni and tell them that this is their chance to give Purdue feedback," DelSanto said.

A dozen universities already have signed up to survey their graduates, including Ohio State and Arizona State. Daniels said he hopes to see other schools grow with feedback.

Purdue grads will have access to the survey for three weeks. Once surveys have been taken, Gallup will compare Purdue to the national Gallup-Purdue Index and see what points of strength the university can hit even harder.

DelSanto said Purdue has committed to making the report comparing the university to the national survey public, thus leading by example. Results will be fully available to the provost and deans so they can make changes, such as revamping the curriculum and the creation of new avenues for students to get work experience, DelSanto said.

"As President Daniels has said time and again, this isn't just an exercise to show Purdue graduates have good outcomes in life and work, it's also about the lessons we can learn from the data and putting them to good use," she said.